


I’ll Find You.

by cutenewt



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Autistic Newt Scamander, Cinnamon Roll Newt Scamander, Dorks in Love, Dumbledore is cryptic, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Fluff, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Heavy Angst, Hurt Newt Scamander, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Injuries, Minor Violence, Newt Scamander is a Dork, Post-Movie 1: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Protective Queenie Goldstein, Protective Tina Goldstein, Sad with a Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2018-08-30
Packaged: 2019-06-29 15:06:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 13,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15731883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cutenewt/pseuds/cutenewt
Summary: Newton Scamander has enemies. If you met him, you truly wouldn’t think so at first glance. But, due to his extraordinarily high praised reputation for rescuing magical creatures all across the globe, it’s the people he’s rescuing them from that aren’t happy. So, they plan to do something about it… once and for all.





	1. Chapter 1

_ ~ _

 

The small bedroom is dark, only lit by a small lamp burning on the dresser. The curtains are drawn, and there’s a tense atmosphere looming amongst the air. There’s a singular person bustling about, quieter than usual… much quieter. He packs necessities in one suitcase, the one that’s open, and keeps glancing at the other that is closed. A small, leaf like creature peeks out of the man’s coat pocket, but ducks back in again a moment later.

 

Snapping the case shut, the man picks it up. He sighs heavily, his whole body seeming to deflate as he stares at the other case. “It won't be for long,” he whispers softly, running his palm across it in a loving sort of way. “I’ll see you soon.”

 

A knock at the door makes him jump. He sucks in a breath, before reaching into his pocket. “Now, Pickett. We’ve talked about this… I won’t leave you for long. I promise,” the male says, as the tree like being clings to his finger.

 

“Stop that,” a sigh escapes his lips again. He opens the case that had been previously locked tight. “I’m going to get Tina — she’ll help. It’s too dangerous for you, Pick. You have to go inside.” His voice wavers, as the creature dangles over the entrance for his old home.

 

There’s a pleading look in the eyes of its owner, and it seems to understand. Letting go of his finger, the little Bowtruckle drops down into the suitcase, climbing safely into the shed like building below. It waves its little arm up at the man above, who returns the feature before shutting the case tight and patching it back up again.

 

Another loud knock. He rushes out of the bedroom, inspecting the peep hole before unlocking the front door. “Code?” He forces himself to look the man before him up and down, and manages to maintain eye contact for a few painful seconds.

 

“Chinese Fireball.” The gruff voice replies.

 

He nods back. Holding the locked case in his hand, the male squeezes the handle tight. His knuckles begin to shade with white, as he slowly lifts his wrist and holds the case out towards the person stood at his door. “Don’t tell me where you’re taking it, but ensure it’s safety. Please.”

 

“As long as I get my other half of the money, I really don’t care, Sir. I’m only doing this ‘cause I owe Thes —“

 

“Don’t. You… you mustn’t involve him. He was just the messenger. He has no idea what this is about.”

 

The guy shrugs, and snatches the case. “Thanks,” he mutters.

 

The door slams shut. His heart is beating practically out of his chest. “I — I have to find Tina.” The man whispers softly, sinking down to the floor as hot tears spill down his cheeks.

 

He has no time to waste.

 

Newt Scamander must catch the next boat to New York… if he wants to live.

 

~


	2. Chapter 2

~

 

Tina Goldstein has been living quite a ‘normal’ life since those seven months that she had crossed paths with Newt Scamander. She is back to being an auror, and working for MACUSA again. Her old boss — Percival Graves — has made a full recovery, after being found trapped by Grindelwald and having recovered in hospital for five months afterwards. Things seem to be back how they were, but there is only one thing missing.

 

She misses Newt. And, yes, Tina will deny that at every chance she gets… but, unfortunately when she’s around her little sister, Queenie, that isn’t quite so easy. So, when the eldest Goldstein sibling arrives home one evening to the witch dressed in pink jumping up and down with excitement whilst holding a letter, Tina can’t help but smile and grab it from her hands.

 

But, then her heart sinks. Tina feels like she’s going to throw up after reading what’s written down on the paper, splashes against it that look like tears…

 

_‘Dear Tina,_

 

_I’m writing to you for a sort of call for help. I’m currently in England, about to board to New York. I cannot discuss this properly… and, I hate to involve you in my troubles, but I feel as though I am in danger. I can work this out with the help of the ministry, but my own don’t trust me. This is why I am turning to you. I should arrive two weeks today and when I do, I will send another letter with a place to meet._

 

_I am writing this letter on Saturday, November 7th. If you do not receive another letter by the 23rd wait one more day, just to be sure, Tina. I do not want to come to the apartment and risk yours and Queenie’s safety. I feel terrible for writing this and scaring you, I’ll be alright. I just need a little help solving something._

 

_Thank you,_

 

_Newt.’_

 

Her eyes start to blur with tears, but she wipes them away with the silent refusal that anything should happen to him. Today is the 22nd — Tina knows how long it takes for mail to travel across the sea, even when delivered by owl. She has one more day to wait… one more painstaking day to discover whether or not Newt has made it safely across the ocean to access her assistance.

 

Queenie can feel the terror that her sister is experiencing, and is already by her side not a second to late. She wraps an arm around the witch, squeezing tightly and reading the letter over her shoulder. A gasp falls from her perfectly pink lips, and she gulps. “He’ll be okay, honey. We’ll wait by the shipyard.”

 

Shrugging out of her sister’s grip, Tina shakes her head. “If he says he will send a letter, we have to wait. I mean, who knows what he’s gotten himself into.” She sighs, steadying her shaking hand by grabbing her wrist.

 

“Then we’ll wait for that letter… together.” Her copper-blonde hair bounces a little with such a firm nod.

 

“And, if we don’t get one?” Tina bites down hard on her bottom lip. She’s not going to cry.

 

Queenie sucks in a breath. “We’ll go to Graves.” She replies.

 

~

 

The ship seems to cause Newt’s stomach to lurch in all different directions. It certainly wasn’t like this on his first journey, seven months ago. But, then he had his creatures to keep him company and now all he has is a case full of clothes. It’s the last day of his journey, yet it feels like he’s been stuck here for months and that it’ll never end.

 

When the ship eventually docks some hours later, he staggers off down the ramp, clutching his luggage to his chest in some strange attempt to pretend they’re his precious family inside. He barely passes security, shifting from foot to foot and avoiding any kind of direct eye contact even for a millisecond. Thankfully, they let him go after accepting the fact that he’s just a seasick Brit off to chase his American dreams in the States.

 

Newt knows he has to find somewhere to write a letter, and that he should stay in a place full of people to try and blend in. He’d even changed from his favourite teal coat to a grey one, in an attempt to camouflage himself amongst other people. He blinks a few times, trying to steady himself and become more accustomed to his surroundings. After spotting a bench nearby the exit, he makes a beeline to go and sit down.

 

That’s when he bumps into somebody, completely by accident but when you aren’t looking upwards and you’re staring at peoples feet… well, it’s bound to happen eventually. “So, sorr —“

 

The world starts spinning around him and his arms are being gripped rather tight. Newt takes a moment to realise that he’s apparating — he’s not doing so alone either — and, his case is no longer in his grasp. He isn’t safe. They’ve found him. Each and every thought rushes throughout his mind, as he tries to pull away, not caring that he could risk being splinched.

 

But, as slowly as the journey with whomever has captured him may have seemed, he’s already landed somewhere and is back on solid ground. Newt reaches for his wand, his hand so close to reaching it before there’s a sharp blow to the back of his head. A hot, tingly feeling spreads throughout his body and the darkened surroundings seem to begin to sway. Then black spots begin to appear… and, he’s out cold.

 

~

 

“We got him — just docked into New York a couple hours ago.”

 

“No, the case wasn’t there… he’s still asleep. Course we knocked him out! This guy has duelled Grindlewald and survived, you think we were going to give him a chance to reach for his wand?!”

 

“Alright, we’ll wait for you.”

 

~


	3. Chapter 3

~

 

It’s Tuesday the 24th of November, and each Goldstein sister called in sick for work this morning. Tina is practically beside herself with fear, because she knows Newt would never be late, let alone in a situation like the one he’d described via letter. She had told Queenie that they’d wait until noon, just incase the mail came late. But, it’s two minutes past and now she’s shrugging on her coat and before her sister can even utter a word she’s gone.

 

The younger witch follows in her footsteps, the pair of them apparating to MACUSA as quickly as they possibly can. Tina strides up to Graves’ office, knowing that he’ll most likely be in there preparing for meetings with the other aurors, and sorting out different cases from the weeks before this. She hammers against the door with her knuckles, causing physical pain but barely even noticing in her current state of mind.

 

“Come —“

 

She pushes the door open, stomping up to his desk. “I need your help,” Tina exhales all in one breath, her chest rising and falling in quite a fast manner.

 

His eyes widen. “Miss Goldstein… what is going on? You are meant to be at home recovering” He seems sceptical, knowing of her past reputation for being a little too extravagant in her work.

 

But, this time it’s different. Tina has helplessness in her eyes and her voice is wobbly. Graves is standing now, listening closely as she explains that the man who helped to save Percival’s life by revealing Gellert from the impersonation, is possibly in extreme danger and needs saving.

 

“He was meant to arrive here yesterday?” The man asks, his gaze traveling to the door where Queenie is now standing.

 

Tina nods. “He said if the letter didn’t arrive by Monday to wait one more day. I’ve waited, and I know he’s in danger.” She explains, her hands delving into her pockets to retrieve the slightly crumpled up letter that had arrived last week.

 

The man before her scans his eyes over the page, taking in each word. “Well, from what I’ve discovered about him… is he not just out rescuing another creature?”

 

She shakes her head, leaning forwards even closer. “Not this time. We need to find out what he was up to…  _ please _ .” Tina would never usually come across as this vulnerable, especially not to somebody of such hierarchy. But, she needs to ensure of Newt’s safety and right now things don’t look good.

 

“Alright. I’ll get in contact with the Ministry in London today. I’m assuming you’re going to want to stay… and, you too, Miss Goldstein?” He looks over at Queenie, who nods enthusiastically back at him.

 

The sisters stay with Graves upon each and every move he makes. Admittedly it makes him extremely uncomfortable, but he owes this British wizard quite a lot and he can see that Tina cares quite deeply for this man, and she has done nothing but work hard since the day he arrived back and reclaimed his position here. So, the three of them work tirelessly together for the whole day, ensuring not to involve anybody else but themselves, going by what Newt’s mysterious message seemed to convey.

 

By the end of the day, they had come up with a small amount of information. “So,” Graves looks at the scrawled down notes that are in front of him, having just gotten off of a floo powder conversation call with Theseus Scamander — not revealing anything to him, of course. “He said that Newt called him a few weeks back, asking for a favour. He didn’t say what for, only that he’d pay. So, he asked someone from his platoon to do so. The guy got back to him, and that that Newt had asked him to take his case and hide it without telling him where… Theseus said his brother has the tendency to go on weird adventures a lot, and that he’d told him not to worry ‘cause he was going to travel on another ‘creature saving holiday.’” Graves quotes.

 

Both Tina and Queenie exchange worried glances, and the elder sister’s complexion turns two shades whiter. “Graves, you don’t understand,” the exasperation in her voice is painful to hear. “He’d never give his case to a stranger… not to ask him to hide it somewhere unknown!” Her voice gets louder, and Queenie jumps.

 

“Alright, calm down. So, we know he wanted his creatures out of reach. Who’d wanna steal them?”

 

The brunette gets to her feet and begins pacing across the room. “Well, they’d be worth a lot of money. Some traffickers?” She suggests, freezing mid-pace. “I mean, MACUSA has practically eradicated them over the past few years because of our law.”

 

“They could be a British organisation,” her sister points out.

 

Tina sighs. “There must be hundreds over the world… think of how many that Newt must’ve put outta business by saving those poor creatures!” She exclaims.

 

“Well,” Percival walks around his desk. “The most notorious would be the black marketers here in New York.” He says.

 

“We’ve tried to get them, but they’ve been underground now since we got so close… when you were, um,” Tina looks down at her feet and clears her throat. “We lost two aurors that day too.”

 

He nods, understanding and appreciating that she knows the sensitivity of the subject. “Well, if Mr. Scamander said that MACUSA could help specifically, then maybe he knew they were after him.”

 

“He also said in his letter that his own Ministry don’t trust him. He could just want the help from me because I  _ do _ .” Tina runs her hands down her face.

 

Graves turns to Queenie. “Well, it’s the best we got. I’m going to retrieve the old archives and go from there. Miss Goldstein, if you could retrieve us all some beverages for the long night ahead, please?” He asks, and she nods politely back.

 

They won’t rest until they have some sort of a lead towards Newt’s whereabouts. They owe him this much.

 

~


	4. Chapter 4

~

 

“What if the aurors find us? They almost did last year.”

 

“They won’t. They’ll be too occupied with keeping Gellert locked up, now wake him up would you?”

 

Heavy footsteps clunk towards Newt. “I — I’m — I’m awake.” He groans, daring to open his eyes but being met with an intense ache throughout his skull.

 

“Now, we know you boarded the boat. We waited for you, it was rather easy. But, what we don’t know is this… where is your case?” The man a little further back begins to ask questions, as he steps closer to Newt.

 

The wizard is tied to a chair, his hand bound behind his back with a rough form of rope, and the same goes for both of his ankles. As far as he’s aware, he’s in some kind of darkened room. Only, now there’s one singular light above him, and it’s shining through his closed closed eyelids causing quite a pain for his head.

 

“We know you don’t go anywhere without it, Scamander. We have done extensive research. Oh, and…” Newt feels something scratch his face, and opens his eyes to see that the man has withdrawn his wand now. “Remember last month, when you duelled that wizard in the alleyway. He isn’t doing so good, now, and we don’t take it lightly losing one of our own.”

 

Gasping, Newt screws his eyes shut again. “I — no… no, I didn’t — I didn’t kill him.” He stammers, feeling his body start to shake.

 

A chilling laugh leaves the wizard who is standing above him. “Oh, we know. But, he let out important information which made it damn hard you catch you the second time. So, I killed him when he got back.”

 

Newt feels his stomach turn. “Why…  why —“

 

“God, he don’t stop talkin’!” The other man laughs.

 

He receives a glare from who appears to be the leader. Scamander opens his eyes for a few seconds, glancing around to try and figure out more of what he’s gotten himself into. The man standing above him is definitely in charge. The two men behind him must be the followers who had grabbed him at the dock. It all makes sense really, he’d figured from the accent of the man who’d been following him last month that they were the New York black marketers. He also knew that duelling the man and winning wouldn’t make them happy. But, coming to New York was supposed to give Tina a chance to get her big win — her big arrest that properly asserted her position back at MACUSA. Instead, it just landed him in the laps of the very people he’d been running from.

 

Newt wasn’t sure if they’d been waiting there everyday, or if maybe there was somebody on the ship watching and reporting. It was most likely too dangerous to apparate across the middle of the sea, so having someone there as backup seemed sensible. Maybe they were even the two men who had grabbed him right off the dock… Newt gulps. He’d walked himself right into their trap from the very moment he’d stepped onto the decking of the ship.

 

“Mr. Scamander?” His eyes snap back open, having not even realised that they’d gone back to being closed. “We need that case now.”

 

“I — I don’t know where it is.” He states firmly, staring at the man’s chest.

 

The leading wizard raises his wand. “I’m going to ask once more, before I start to hurt you. And, each time you lie to me, I am going to ensure that your creatures suffer a little… bit… more.”

 

Newt feels his eyes begin to well. “I don’t know!” He shouts. “You can hurt me all… all you like. You’ll… you’ll never hurt my —“

 

With a flick of the wand and a flash of light, Newt’s whole body is hit with a force that knocks the chair backwards. The lead wizard levitates the chair back up, and the man who is bound is gasping for air. “This is going to be fun, isn’t it?” The man clutching his wand grins.

 

~


	5. Chapter 5

_Wednesday, 25th November._

 

After a sleepless night of the three of them searching for information, both Tina and Queenie are now slumped over the desk fast asleep. Graves, however has his eyes wide and is drinking what may or may not be his seventh mug of coffee.

 

“YES!” He leaps up from his chair, sending papers scattering and awakening the two sisters with quite a fright.

 

Tina stands up so quickly that she almost falls over. She rubs the sleep from her eyes, and squints through the artificial light inside of the office room. “Did you find him?!” She asks, her voice gravely from sleep.

 

“I’ve been going over everything we had, and I figured they would clearly not be hiding in a safe house we’ve mapped and raided. Then, I was wondering where they’ve been hiding since MACUSA uncovered most of their organisation… then I thought, I need to focus on their tie-ins with Mr. Scamander. So, I mapped out each and every place he has been and taken animals from other people who have been selling them on. I must admit, he’s done a damn good job.”

 

Graves pauses, pointing to the map on the table. “The black marketers often buy other creatures, selling them on for a profit and they also sell creatures for the traffickers — this makes them the biggest organisation, due to their ties to everyone else. Mr. Scamander has put at least twenty nine traffickers out of business, which means that the black marketers have less profit and add MACUSA almost taking their whole organisation down… they are done for. But, with traffickers still gaining access to creatures, they have a chance. If Mr. Scamander is taken out of the equation, nobody will be there to save the animals.”

 

Tina nods for him to continue. He takes another swig of his coffee, and takes a deep breath. “The last place Mr. Scamander travelled to that is documented, was two months ago. He saved a Chinese Fireball from a Romanian illegal breeder… this was going to be his,” Percival points to a mugshot of a wizard, “buy and the black marketers chance to regain growth. But, Scamander got there first and that’s when they started the plot against him. As for where they are? I have a list of possible locations they’re related to… if they’re in the States.” He exhales heavily, falling back into his chair.

 

A silence looms over the room. “We need to send out every single auror that we can, to scout each area.” Tina instructs.

 

Graves is much too tired to remind her who’s in charge, and he gets back to his feet. “It’s about time this organisation were caught,” he says, striding out of the room.

 

Tina exhales a shaky breath, and her sister wraps her in a hug. “This is a real good lead, Teenie.” She whispers.

 

“I know.” The witch says bluntly. Tina wraps her arms back around Queenie, returning the hug for a few moments before pulling away. “I’ll find him.” She clenches her fists and presses her jaw firmly together. “I swear.”

 

~

 

Newt hisses in pain, inhaling sharply through his nose as he gets hit with another round of ‘Incendio,’ which leaves more scorch marks against his coat. “Let me guess… You still don’t know, huh?” The wizard rolls his eyes. “You two, get out. Me and Mr. Scamander are gonna talk this out.” He waves his hand to the two wizards behind him, who scatter quickly out of the door — there’s a door, that’s somewhat useful for future reference.

 

“So,” the man begins slowly. “If you love your creatures so dearly, why don’t you know where they are?”

 

The tied up man opposite him opens his watering eyes, but look anywhere but into the other’s. “Someone took them. I thought it was you,” he mumbles.

 

“Look at me when I am talking!” He roars, jumping up and only making Newt want to make himself smaller than he already feels.

 

He glances upwards, and the man’s eyes look almost as dark as his demeanour. “I — I am.” Newt manages to say.

 

“You are a strange one.” The wizard shakes his head, emerging another chair with his wand and taking a seat directly opposite to Newt rather than crouching like he had been doing before.

 

The man hands Newt some water, as there’s a table now situated nearby them. Newt has no idea whether or not that was there before… things are beginning to blur into one. He’s losing track of time already.

 

“Now, let’s be logical. Tell me where the case is now, and I can go easy on the creatures. I’ll make sure they get the best homes we can sell to.” Somewhat of a smile creeps onto his lips, but it’s nothing like one of the warm smiles that Tina gives him.

 

“I swear I do… do not know,” Newt replies.

 

The man loses his patience once more, getting to his feet and kicking his own chair across the room. Scamander flinches, preparing himself for another jinx. Sure enough, he’s hit with what feels to be ‘flipendo’ and it feels like a sharp punch to his gut. Newt watches through tearful eyes as the wizard leaves the room, then tugs at his binds in an attempt to loosen them. But, to no prevail he stays put, barely moving an inch apart from rocking the chair.

 

Newt sighs heavily, closing his eyes. He wonders if Tina is worrying about him, and a pang of guilt washes over him. He should have never gotten her involved in the first place. This is his mess, and it should have stayed that way.

 

~


	6. Chapter 6

~

 

“What’s taking him so long?!” Tina stands up from her chair again, starting for the door.

 

Queenie gasps. “Teenie, wait! Finish your pastry, or you’ll get unwell.” The sister attempts at helping, but her speech is abruptly drawn to a halt when the office door opens and Tina stops herself right before walking into the newcomers.

 

“M — Madame President,” she greets. “What are you doing here?” Then, Tina spies Graves a few steps behind her.

 

“Miss Goldstein, I have been informed of the situation. I cannot send out all of our aurors without a briefing. And, I understand this is very personal to —“

 

“It’s the black marketers, Madame President! We have to arrest them too! We can get them on a kidnapping charge now and maybe even preempted murder.” Tina almost chokes after realising what she’s said, clutching at her stomach and wondering whether it’s just the hunger.

 

The woman before her lets out the smallest of sighs. “I understand that Mr. Scamander is in danger. He has been a great help to us here, and we owe him a lot. I will brief everyone, and send them to different locations as soon as I can… as for you three, you look as if you haven’t slept in days. Go home and rest, that’s an order.”

 

Each of the trio open their mouths to protest. “I promise you, I will do everything in my power to save the life of Newton Scamander. I will see you all tomorrow, when you mah join in the efforts. I cannot have you risking your own lives and the lives of other people by going out into the field in a state like this.” Her voice is stern, but it also carries a kindness to it.

 

“Yes, Madame President.” They chorus.

 

The woman apparates from their presence, leaving them standing and staring blankly into space. Graves is the first to leave the building, letting the girls know that he will arrive early tomorrow morning to help them again. Queenie thanks him, but Tina is still in a daze. Her younger sister takes her by the arm, and apparates them both back home again.

 

When they land in the living room, Tina doesn’t even move. She doesn’t even blink. Her sister has only ever seen her act close to this once… a long time ago. “Teenie, it’s gonna be okay. We should rest, and then we’ll be back again tomorrow.” The witch says soothingly, moving closer to her sister.

 

“How can I sleep?” She mumbles. “He’s in danger, Queenie. These wizards are almost as bad as Grindlewald. They’re ruthless.”

 

“I know, honey… but, Newt will outsmart them. I know he will,”

 

Tina sighs, closing her eyes. She knows that it’s logical to get some rest and eat something. Or, she really will end up endangering her own life as well as others, just like she’s been told. So, the brunette drags her feet to bed and lies down. As much as she doesn’t want to sleep, her body is more than exhausted by now and it drags her deep into a slumber before she can stop it.

 

~

 

_ Thursday, 26th November. _

 

One of the aurors under the direct orders of Madame President knocks once against her office door. They enter when told to do so, walking up to the desk after closing the door behind them. “We have thoroughly searched ten of the twenty two places Mr. Graves marked out, Madame President.” The witch informs her.

 

“And?”

 

“A few were full of things abandoned — old papers, cages and things. But, no sign of occupation from anything living. We’re covering our tracks too.”

 

Before their information can be answered to, there is another, much louder knock against the office door. “Enter, Miss Goldstein.”

 

Sure enough, when the door opens it is indeed Tina who is walking inside. “Have you found anything?!” She blurts out, halting in front of the desk. “Sorry,  _ Madame President _ .” She quickly adds.

 

“Not as yet,” the woman calmly replies. She proceeds to look the woman up and down, ensuring that she is well enough rested to help. “As you can imagine, I have my doubts about allowing you to help on this case, Miss Goldstein. But, you have proven yourself these past few months and I will allow it if you can promise me you’ll act on your profession and not your heart.”

 

Tina hears the last word and feels her cheeks heat up at the sound of it. “I — uh, yes… yes, of course, Madame President.” She stammers.

 

The witch spends a moment maintaining eye contact with her, before breaking it to turn to the other witch under her command. “Continue as you were,” she states. “Goldstein, Graves is awaiting you in his office. He has already been briefed.”

 

She nods, and thanks her before apparating down to the office. Tina can’t help but wonder when on earth Graves must have arrived, considering she herself awoke at seven a.m. and arrived here less than one hour after. When she gets inside of the office, Mr. Graves informs her of each location that has already been scouted, and where they are to go. Queenie knows that this isn’t in her training, but all the same her face drops into an upset frown when she is informed that she cannot accompany them.

 

Tina hugs her sister tightly, letting her know that she will be fine. Then, the woman dressed in lilac watches as the pair of aurors disappear before her eyes. And, she can only hope and pray that they make it back with Newt… with all of them alive.

 

~


	7. Chapter 7

~

 

Deciding that they’d give Newt a break overnight, the three black marketers return early in the morning. The leader awaits outside, telling his two followers to try and get something out of the man. He informs them to go easy, attempt at a ‘good wizard, bad wizard’ routine. And, if that doesn’t work? They’re allowed to start casting some spells of their own.

 

After giving Scamander another small amount of water, the pair sit in front of him. They watch as he stares at the ground, which is unpleasantly spattered with drops of his own crimson blood. “So…” the wizard on the left begins. “The case?”

 

Newt groans. He realises that they aren’t going to give up — the contents of his case are worth millions. “I — I have no idea where it is.”

 

“Yeah, we heard. But, if you tell us we can get it to ya! Don’t worry about our boss.” One of them tries.

 

The wizard who is captured almost laughs. All of his life he has had immense trouble reading other human beings… but, this one? Merlin’s Beard, even Newt can’t fall for that. But, he tries to stay calm and play along.

 

“I — I swear to you I’d tell y — you if I… if I knew,” he grits his teeth. “Swear.” He repeats.

 

The wizards both sigh in unison. “This is borin’” the one on the right growls.

 

He gets to his feet, brandishing his wand. “Wait!” Newt yelps, still feeling completely drenched in his own sweat and blood and not really wanting to have to deal with any more of it right now. “If — If you swear not to tell your boss, I will direct you somewhere.”

 

The wizard freezes in the position he’s standing, then slowly lowers and puts his wand away. “We’re listening.” He muses.

 

Now is Newt’s chance. He has somewhat of an idea tumbling around in his mind, but he’s fearful of putting Queenie in danger. Sucking in a deep breath, Newt prepares himself to do something he may never be able to forgive. He gives them the location of their apartment.

 

~

 

Queenie is currently stuck in Graves’ office, tears rolling down her cheeks with her head in her hands. She doesn’t cry too often — alright, she did sort of cry that time she saw a really fluffy dog… and, maybe she cried when Newt left to go back to England. Okay, she cries quite easily. But, this time the witch has a more than legitimate reason, because her sister is in danger and so is her funny, British friend. And, Queenie cannot bare the thought of one single thing happening to either of them.

 

But, as she’s busy trying to cry out her woes, she gets an extremely uncomfortable feeling. The feeling that somebody is disturbing her personal belongings… like… “someone is in the apartment!” She yelps, jumping to her feet.

 

The witch is unsure, but she has a strong inkling that this is related to Newt. So, she apparates to Madame President’s office and bursts inside, no second thoughts about knocking or apologising for the lack of. “Someone’s in mine and Tina’s house and I think it’s do do with Newt!” Queenie yells, completely oblivious as to the look of sheer shock upon her boss’ face.

 

But, when the woman hears this piece of information, she immediately disappears. “Hey!” Queenie huffs, spinning around on her heels in an attempt to work out where she went off to.

 

In fact, Madame President is retrieving the closest set of her aurors to accompany her to the Goldsteins’ apartment. She had been staying inside of MACUSA to keep a watchful eye on this operation, but right now there is no time to waste and they must act fast… which is exactly what they do.

 

It isn’t until almost a whole hour later than the witch returns to her office, startling Queenie who is still stood in practically the exact same spot as before. “Miss Goldstein, I applaud your quite literal quick thinking,” she begins.

 

“Did you catch them?! Was it Newt?” Queenie interrupts, quickly apologising and pursing her lips back together.

 

“It was one of the black marketers. He is now being interrogated by your sister and Mr. Graves… I have no doubts that they will get through to him and locate Mr. Scamander. Well done,” she finishes.

 

Queenie hurries off to see if she can watch the interrogation, fearing that she will not be allowed in. But, that isn’t the only fear on her mind. Because, if one of the black marketers has been caught and the others find out… they’re going to want to leave quickly. Which just leaves Newt in their way. She pushes this thought to the back of her mind, desperately trying to find which room her sister is currently inside on the interrogation floor.

 

But, meanwhile inside of the correct room, Tina is not taking ‘no’ for an answer. “We know you have New — Mr. Scamander. And, it is  _ not _ looking good for you right now.” Anger sparks off of every word, and even Graves watches on with slight worry behind his eyes.

 

The wizard chained to the table simply laughs. “They’ll kill him now! Once they know he tricked me!” He snaps, then a look of regret settled upon his expression.

 

Tina smirks, and then she laughs out loud. She realises what he must have done — told them something along the line of ‘the case is in that apartment, they are who I trust.’ She knows what a risk he took, but she also knows that Newt would never endanger her or Queenie unless knew that he was close to his own demise.

 

“So… he tricked you, huh? Were you torturing him? In one of your underground safe houses you hadn’t let us know about?” The auror continues with her questions, Graves giving his help every now and then.

 

This wizard seems rather easy to manipulate, and Tina silently prays that they too will manage to trick him before his leader realises that he’s gone, and… she can’t even think about what may happen then.

 

~

 

Almost three hours have passed since the wizard left to look for the case, and around halfway through his partner informed their leader that Newt had revealed the location. Of course, when the leader heard that he had kept it a secret he lost his sense of calmness within a split second and cast a knockback jinx against the man under his command. He demanded to know where, but it was too late.

 

Upon his return, it was obvious that he knew where his follower was. And, that’s when he turned to Newt. “You lied, didn’t you? I must admit… it was my fault for letting these absolute  _ idiots _ try their hand at you. But, I have to move fast now… Threave, get the potion.” He had uttered, and right away Scamander guessed what they were about to force feed him to drink.

 

And, just as he had thought — the wizard brought in a truth potion. Before administering it, the leader ensured to cast another round of ‘Depulso’ just to make sure that Newt was too weak to resist. By this time, the follower had been gone for two hours. Which meant that he had been in MACUSA’s hold for an hour and a half. Of course, Newt had no idea of any of this… just the fact that he may or may not be about to die.

 

So, another an hour later and the truth potion began to take effect. Newt was clinging onto consciousness though, and this just would not do. The leader had splashed almost a whole bottle of water against his face, causing the poor wizard to cough and splitter and shake the remaining droplets away from his face. To be fair, it had been a little refreshing but that’s when he felt his mouth start to talk.

 

“I — I need more water.”

 

The other wizard had grinned, and sat back down in his chair. He began to ask Newt a few simple questions at first — like, ‘what’s your name’ and ‘where did you travel from a few days ago?’ Once he had answered each one truthfully, then the real questions began.

 

“Where is your case full of magical creatures?” The man smirks. This potion was clearly a last resort, either that or it had been brewing since the beginning and thankfully for them that it was just about ready today.

 

“I don’t know,” Newt groans, feeling his speech start to slur.

 

The other wizard almost chokes on air. “Why don’t you know?! How don’t you know?” He demands, standing up so fast that his chair screeches along the floor.

 

Scamander's head hangs, but his captor pulls it upwards from underneath his chin. “I — I handed it to a stranger, who has hidden it somewhere only he knows.”

 

The man scoffs loudly, carelessly dropping Newt’s head as he turns away. “I can’t believe this…” he murmurs. Turning back again, he launches his fist towards Newt, propelling his anger directly towards the already barely conscious wizard’s face.

 

Then, he storms out of the room and lets the door slam loudly behind him. His final follower shoots him questioning look. “Did it work?” He asks hopefully.

 

“Did it work…” the wizard repeats. “Of course it didn’t work! Why would I be standin’ here if it did?!” He spits down upon the man, who cowers backwards slightly.

 

“M — maybe I didn’t make it right, I’m sorry! I'll go in there!” He stammers, but it’s no use.

 

His leader sighs a prolonged sigh, before standing up straight again. “Alright, final resort. If we can trust that stupendous idiot who has been captured, then he’s keeping up with our cover story. Go and find an animal — any animal — and I’m going to start packing our things. We can’t risk moving now, they’ll be crawling across the city.”

 

The wizard under his offers nods vigorously, and then disappears from his view… if hurting Newton Scamander won’t work, then they’ll hurt a creature right in front of him.

 

~


	8. Chapter 8

~

 

Tina is inches away from the perpetrator's face, and she can feel Graves’ breath practically down her neck as he tells her to back off. “This is your last chance for a deal. Give away the location now, and you will get a much lighter sentence than your friends — and, by that I mean you won’t die.”

 

He squirms under her grip against his shoulder. “Alright! Listen, lady… they’d give me up anyway. They’re underneath that tunnel all you MACUSA folks were in last year. We built a tunnel under it whilst those No-Maj’s were fixin’ it up. Y’know, hide in plain sight and all that. There’s a secret door on the second platform, alright? To your left as you enter.”

 

Tina immediately jumps away from him, slamming her whole body against the door and apparating out of the room before Graves can even catch up with her thought process. He nods to the other auror behind the watching window, and then tells them to gather the others. After aparating out himself, he manages to spy Tina landing directly outside of the station, taking a look around her before apparating again.

 

The pair of them land on the platform at the same time. “We should’ve walked,” he mutters beside her ear.

 

“Shut up,” Tina hisses, withdrawing her wand. “Revelio.” She whispers, grabbing Graves’ hand and yanking himself inside of the jelly like substance that the wall has just turned into.

 

Now, they’re inside of a darkened hallway. Far down the corridor and to their right is a door, and at first they hear nothing… until. “Wake him up!” A voice shouts, clear anger laced throughout the tone.

 

“Dammit, you’re the one who knocked him out!”

 

Tina is already sneaking down the hallway, moments before two more aurors appear in the corridor with them. The four of them creep closer towards the door, and Graves is just behind Tina to the left side of the wall. “Let me,” he whispers, stepping around her and gently reaching for the handle.

 

A few more aurors arrive as backup, and then Percival counts them in. “One… two… three!” He raises his whisper a touch louder towards the end, and then pushes open the door.

 

The second it opens, the aurors are faced with a terrible sight — one wizard is drenching somebody in water, whilst the other holds a kitten up high and their wand is brandished up to its fur. Then, they all realise that the person is the chair is indeed Newton Scamander. And, his clothes are barely recognisable as his own any longer — dyed crimson instead, with rips and burns. His face isn’t even visible, as his head is hung due to passing out once more.

 

Graves stuns the wizard holding the kitten before he can move, whilst another auror does the same to the wizard soaking Newt. But, their shot becomes defended by the shielding charm, and they get hit back by ‘Expelliarmus’ before they can try again. Tina is directly behind them, and the second the sees Newt everything else in the room blurs around her.

 

“Newt!” She yells, sprinting up to him until a sharp pain hits her side.

 

She falls to the floor, almost dropping her wand. “Protego!” Tina shouts, stopping herself from becoming a victim of another jinx.

 

The auror rolls over, and leaps back onto the feet. The main she’s experiencing is numbed by the adrenaline, as she fires back another charm, accompanied by one of her fellow aurors from behind. With the power of the both of them hitting the wizard at once, his wand falls from his hand and another auror intervenes to ensure that he will stay down.

 

Tina stands above him as he writhes, spit forming at the corners of his mouth as he curses the aurors with sharp words and threatens them with their deaths. She grasps her wand so tightly that her knuckles turn white, but a small groan from the man behind her and she spins around without another thought towards the criminal lying beneath her.

 

“Newt!” She crouches by his side, whilst the final auror in the room loosens the binds around his wrists and ankles. “Oh, God… Newt…” the brunette haired woman feels around his neck for a pulse, letting out a breath she had barely noticed she’d been holding when she feels a faint beating against her fingers underneath all of the blood.

 

As his binds snap, both Tina and her colleague have to catch him. “Tina!” Percival’s voice grabs her attention from behind, and she just about manages to turn and look at him underneath the weight of the unconscious man in her arms. “The others are going to take the black marketers back,” he informs her, whilst handing his criminal over to a colleague. The other two aurors are holding the leader firmly in their grip.

 

“I’ll take Newt to the hospital with you,” Graves continues, switching roles with the final auror who was helping to hold him up. “Okay?” He looks over at her, then gives his aurors the nod.

 

When they’re gone, Percival gains a better grip on Newt and hoists the pair of them into a standing position. But, Tina is still on the floor. “Percival…” her speech is dangerously slurred, and when he looks down he realises why.

 

Her previously white blouse is now stained with a rapidly spreading circle of red. Before Graves can begin a sentence, the witch’s eyes begin to roll and seconds later she hits the ground.

 

“Looks like I’m taking the both of you to the hospital… sorry, Mr. Scamander.” He grunts, managing to somehow reach down and lift the both of them with one under each arm.

 

~

 

Tina doesn’t wake up for another two hours. When her eyes begin to slowly flicker open, the first thing she experiences is the brightness surrounding her. Everything is white washed, and it pains her head to try and fathom what’s happening. So, she keeps her eyes closed and tries to piece together what has been happening today. That’s when she remembers, and the eldest Goldstein sister sits up with a gasp.

 

“Newt!” She exclaims loudly, only to be grabbed on each of her arms and lied back down again. Of course, this didn’t take the people too much effort as a wave of dizziness hit her not seconds after she’d sat up and she practically fell backwards anyway.

 

A pair of arms then decide to wrap around her, and it doesn’t take Tina long to realise that she’s being embraced by Queenie. Tiny, little sobs fill her ears and the side of her face grows damp. “Queenie… I’m fine! Stop crying,” the sister mutters, her voice muffled by the body against her.

 

Her sister releases her, and dries her eyes with a pink handkerchief. “Teenie, you almost died!” She squeaks slightly angrily more than anything else.

 

“Oh, come on. Hardly!” Tina scoffs.

 

Queenie folds her arms over her chest, sitting back down on the edge of the bed. That’s when Tina spots Graves, slumped in a chair by the end of the curtain fast asleep. “How long as I out?” Her eyebrows raise a little.

 

“About two hours… he wouldn’t leave.”

 

The brunette nods, pushing herself carefully into a sitting position. She’s dressed in a pair of her own pyjamas, and she can only imagine that this was Queenie’s doing. “Yeah, I didn’t let them put you in a hospital gown.” The witch giggles softly.

 

“Thanks,” Tina smirks.

 

But, then she remembers the real reason as to why she’s here again. “Queenie, where’s Newt?” She asks.

 

Her sister gestures to the curtains that are closed in the bed to their right. “He hasn’t woken up yet, but he’s alive. The nurses say he endured a lot… a lot of pain.” Queenie explains, feeling herself well up again. “Oh,” she squeaks.

 

That’s when Graves inhales sharply, making Tina jump slightly in her slightly dazed state. He sits up and stretches and even  _ smiles _ when he sees Tina. “You’re awake!” Percival exclaims, getting to his feet.

 

As he steps towards her, he turns and spies Queenie. “Your younger sister is very…”

 

“Emotional?” Tina smiles.

 

“Yeah, could say that.” Graves mutters. “How’re you feeling? That guy tore quite somethin’ into your hip, but the doctors and nurses say you’ll heal fine.”

 

Tina grimaces just slightly. “Honestly, I feel okay… you two should go and get some rest. I promise I’m okay.” She smiles, but it’s more of a worn out gesture than anything else.

 

“I’ll bring Queenie first thing tomorrow,” Graves replies.

 

The youngest Goldstein sister steps up shakily to her feet, heading over to give Tina another hug. This time, however, her eldest sibling returns it. “I love you, okay? Now stop that crying and smile! I hate it when you’re sad.”

 

Queenie nods. “I love you too… I’ll bring cookies tomorrow! Gosh, I have to tell Jacob what happened.” Her hand clasps against her mouth, and she looks as if she’s about to start sobbing all over again.

 

Percival quickly takes her gently by the arm, removing it to rub her back for a moment. He looks a little awkward, but the gesture is appreciated since the witch beside him grabs him into a cuddle. Tina tries her best not to laugh, and Graves even sends her a warning glare that sort of reads  _ ‘this never, happened… okay?!’  _ After this short outbursts, the pair link arms again and apparate away.

 

Once they’re gone, Tina sighs heavily. She feels herself sinking into another sleep, and as much as she wants to go and check on Newt… she just can’t help but surrender to the blackness that seems to be engulfing her surroundings.

 

~


	9. Chapter 9

~

 

When she awakens next, Tina feels a lot more alert. The ward around her is dark, and she just about manages to make out her wand and wristwatch on the small chest of drawers to her left. Clearly, the nurses didn’t see her as a threat and left it there — thank goodness — so, she reaches for it and quietly casts ‘Lumos.’ After doing so, she checks time time on her watch which reads almost half past eleven.

 

The witch puts her watch back onto her wrist, and carefully gets out of bed. Her eyes slowly adjust to the light, which is when Tina properly realises that there’s an IV in her left hand — that must be how they’re getting the potions inside of her whilst she’s been sleeping. Grabbing onto the stand, she peeks out of the curtain and the coast is clear. She sucks in a breath, mentally preparing herself to face Newt in the bed neighbouring her own.

 

She sneaks out of her own little curtained off area, and then stops outside of Newt’s Tina draws back his curtain, looking down at the floor as she steps in. Biting down on her tongue, she dares to look up. Her heart feels like it’s lost a little piece, as she settles her gaze upon all of his injuries. Admittedly, he does look a little more alive now that he isn’t covered in blood and his chest is rising and falling in a much more stable manner. But, his face has cuts scattered all over, and he’s also dressed in some pyjamas… yellow ones — _Queenie_.

 

His arms are bare, and are also battered and bruised. Who knows what kind of spells they cast upon him? The nurses must have washed and brushed his hair, because it’s all fluffy and falling into his eyes, no longer tangled and matted with blood like it was when the aurors had first found him.

 

Tina sits on the edge of his bed, glancing down at his hand to see that he also has an IV inserted. She exhales a shaky breath, and when she blinks a few tears spill over. She’s held her emotions in fairly well today, and they were also interrupted when she had passed out just a few moments after they had saved Newt. Plus, with all of the worry and exhaustion that has built up over the past few days… well, I think it’s safe to say that she deserves a good cry.

 

So, that’s exactly what she does. The witch rarely ever cries, she has always been ‘the strong one’ for Queenie, especially after their parents passed. And, Tina will never cry in front of anybody if she can help it. But, right now she feels so tired and she just wants Newt to be alright, and she doesn’t want her sister to worry and she’s so thankful for Graves’ help and…

 

“T — Tina?” A small voice drags her away from her thoughts, and all of a sudden she holds her breath. “What — Where…”

 

Turning slowly with tears still falling from her eyes with no control, Tina looks at Newt. Her wand is still balanced on the bed, so it’s casting a light over his face just a little and he’s squinting up at her. “Newt, you’re — you’re awake!” She laughs through the tears, wiping her eyes and hoping he won’t notice.

 

His eyes close again and he swallows. “Tina?”

 

“I’m here, Newt. We saved you. I found you,” she reassures him softly.

 

As he begins to regain full consciousness, Newt reopens his eyes. “Tina?” He repeats, but more clearly than before.

 

“Yes?”

 

“Don’t cry,” he says quietly, his gaze finding hers for more than a few seconds.

 

She feels her cheeks begin to grow hotter, and then wipes away a few more stray tears. “I’m not,” Tina utters the worst lie ever.

 

Newt frowns. “Please don’t cry,” he mumbles sleepily.

 

“Shhh,” the witch soothes, watching as he tries to fight falling back to sleep.

 

She can hear footsteps arriving close by outside of the curtain, and hurriedly casts ‘Nox’ before they can scold her. Deciding it best not to apparate, Tina sneaks back into her own bed. When the nurse arrives to check on her, she informs with a slight white lie that the patient next to her was talking to himself a moment ago. The nurse thanks her, gives her some more Wiggenweld to drink and bustles back off again.

 

Tina manages to sip a little of it before growing too tired again, so she places it on the drawers. Then, she tucks herself back into bed and closes her eyes. Things are going to be okay… Newt is going to be okay.

 

~

 

The next morning, Tina wakes up to the smell of baked goods. This can only mean one of two things; either she’s somehow been transported to the bakery, or Jacob and Queenie have baked enough cakes to feed the entire ward and then some. The witch opens her eyes… yep, it’s definitely the second option.

 

“Teenie! You’re awake,” Queenie exclaims, rushing to her side.

 

Jacob is stood at the end of the bed, eating a cookie — because why wouldn’t you be at nine a.m.?

 

“Tina! How’re you feelin’?” He asks, joining Queenie by her side.

 

The witch manages to push herself into a sitting position with minimal pain this time. “Much better… um, is Newt awake?” She questions.

 

Her younger sibling shakes her head sadly, gesturing to the neighbouring bed. “No, he’s still sleepin’.”

 

The curtain is no longer drawn, and Newt can be seen fast asleep. Even Jacob looks forlorn about it. “He looks so…  not like Newt, y’know?” He murmurs.

 

“We baked, Teen! You should have something sweet after your breakfast.” The other witch continues, flouncing over to the pile of baked goods.

 

Tina agrees just to please her still slightly emotional sister, and eats up her breakfast before nibbling on a cookie. She feels confined to her bed and it’s not a nice feeling, especially to somebody who’s so used to being up and about all day on her feet. About an hour later both Jacob and Queenie begin handing out various pastries to the nurses and other patients, spreading joy which really is what they do best.

 

That’s when there comes a quiet groan from the bed beside Tina, and she hurriedly swings her legs over the bed. The woman huffs when she remembers the IV that’s still restricting her, and takes a quick glance around before loosening the bandaged and tugging it out. The pain only lasts for a moment or two, so then she walks over to sit on Newt’s bed as his eyes start to open.

 

He seems to be slightly more awake than he had been last night, and his eyes travel towards Tina. “Are… are you… are you hurt?” Newt struggles to piece his words together, screwing his eyes shut in an attempt to concentrate better.

 

“I’m fine, Newt.” She reassures him.

 

Then, the wizard opens his eyes again and a sudden look of fear travels across his face. “Tina! My… my case! Where… where is… where’s my case? My creatures they… they need me!” He exclaims, terror glistening inside of his already tear filled eyes.

 

“Newt, we will find them. As soon as Graves arrives I’m going to ask him if they’re looking, okay?” She tells him, trying to reach for one of his trembling hands.

 

His head is barely above the pillow in his panicked state, but a second later it falls back down again and his eyes start to flutter closed. “My creatures…” he exhales, still writhing a little underneath the covers.

 

Tina can hear footsteps behind her, and knows that it’s Queenie. “Is he awake?!” She squeals, rushing over to the bed and settling her gaze upon him.

 

“Somewhat,” her sister informs.

 

“Newt? It’s me, Queenie! Me and Jacob are so worried about you and we made cookies!” She rambles, wanting so badly to hug him but fearing that she may hurt him instead.

 

The wizard lying in the bed relaxes under Tina’s soft touch, and drifts back into a slumber one more. Queenie sighs from the relief, turning back to Jacob who looks a slight mixture of terrified and upset. “Let’s go take a rest, okay?” The woman utters kindly, linking arms with the man. “We’ll come back soon, Teenie.” She smiles, before apparating out of the room and leaving Tina alone with Newt once more.

 

“Miss Goldstein!” A voice from behind her causes her to jump in fright. “What are you going out of bed _and_ without your IV line?” One of the nurses scolds her.

 

“Well, I… it’s very restricting. I’ll drink any potions you’d like me to,” Tina replies, going back over to her bed.

 

The nurse places her hands on her hips and taps her foot. “Alright, Miss. We’ll bring some more Wiggenweld over real soon.” She informs, before hurrying away to see to another patient.

 

~


	10. Chapter 10

~

 

After drinking a whole goblet of Wiggenweld potion and have the dressing changed on her wound, Tina feels almost back to full health once more. But, she’s still stuck in bed because the nurse wants her resting; she doesn’t want her to tug on her stitches, because that’s apparently a thing. But, when she hears Newt whimpering in his sleep she isn’t just going to sit and wait for a nurse to come and help, is she?

 

The eldest Goldstein sister gets to her feet, feeling as though she has a lot more strength than the past few times she’s walked this little path over to Mr. Scamander’s bedside. She reaches for his hand, but immediately notices that there is something not quite right. Tina feels underneath of the hair in his eyes with the back of her palm, not even needing to make direct contact with his skin to properly feel the heat.

 

“Nurse!” She yelps, not entirely sure that there’s anybody close by to help.

 

But, a younger looking witch appears seconds later standing before her. “Miss Goldstein, I’m sure Sister has told you to rest in bed.” The woman tuts softly.

 

“But, he’s burnin’ up.” Tina frowns, and the nurse moves closer.

 

She waves her wand, removing the covers from lying over Newt. The next thing she does is retrieve a cool cloth, placing it against his forehead before holding a thermometer in his mouth. “You ever think about being a nurse, Miss?”

 

Tina scoffs a little. “Why?” Her brow furrows.

 

“Well, you seem to care about him a lot. S’all.” The witch smiles kindly, removing the thermometer from Newt’s mouth and sighing quietly to herself.

 

She adjusts his IV, whilst Tina sits in silence and thinks about what the nurse has just said. Is it that obvious how worried she is about Newt? Before the nurse can leave the bedside, the brunette still sat upon the bed speaks up. “How long do you think it’ll take for him to be okay?”

 

“Well, Miss… he’s been jinxed a lot. And, I think they used their fists too. But, he will regain health again. His mind and body just need to piece back together again,” she explains, all  the while with a kind smile over her facial expression.

 

Tina nods as a silent ‘thanks,’ feeling her stomach turn a little. She hadn’t even considered the fact that they might have been using their own fists to hurt Newt too. A loud sigh falls from her lips as she glances down at him still sleeping. She hopes he’ll awaken soon and smile again and ramble about all different kinds of creatures. She misses that.

 

This time only half an hour passes by until the eldest Goldstein sibling hears a noise from Scamander’s bed. In fact, she’s still sat by his side and hasn’t even returned to her own bed — having drawn the curtains around each one, to try and avoid detection from the Sister who had scolded her earlier. She looks down at Newt, who seems to be frowning as he returns to consciousness once more.

 

And, the first thing that he says; “Why… is there a slug on my head?”

 

Tina actually bursts into a small fit of laughter at this. She laughs for the first time in a long time, and smiles down at the wizard she has grown to be so fond of. “Newt, there is  _ not _ a slug on your head.” She giggles again.

 

He fully opens his eyes, and this time they don’t roll or close again. He manages to look at her for a few seconds, then darts his gaze down to the bandage on his hand. Where he had been bound the nurses had wrapped each area in bandage and dabbed them with Wiggenweld, so those are still firmly in place too. There’s also still various plasters all over his body, and now that the covers aren’t against him they reveal a few other bandaged up wounds just above his ankles.

 

“Ouch,” Newt mumbles, staring at each mark on his skin.

 

“Indeed,” the witch agrees quietly. “Newt, how do you feel?” She asks, hoping that he will be able to make somewhat of a lucid conversation this time.

 

He groans. “I’ve… I have felt better.”

 

She chuckles a little. ”I can imagine. I’m just glad you’re okay,” Tina admits before she can stop herself.

 

“Tina? You… you saved me?”

 

“Well, so did Graves and a lot of MACUSA.” She adds modestly, smiling down at him when his eyes begin to close.

 

They sit in silence for a while, and Tina assumes that he has fallen back to sleep. But, then he inhales sharply and his eyes open once more. “Tina… were you crying?” He murmurs, trying to sit himself up.

 

Before she can reply to the question that has quite startled her mind, a nurse appears before them. “Mr. Scamander, do be careful.” The young witch chides, rushing over to assist him in moving. She manages to help him sit up, but he looks rather pale and slightly close to passing out.

 

After taking his temperature and confusing Newt as to what she’s doing, the nurse mutters to herself as she bustles about. “Miss Goldstein, we are rather busy on the ward today… could you?” The woman hands Tina a new cold cloth, having removed the old one that had warmed quite quickly.

 

“Oh, uh, of course.” Tina agrees, taking the cloth and turning to the wizard.

 

The nurse thanks her before leaving out of the curtain, and then Tina reaches carefully towards Newt’s arms. He flinches each time she moves the cloth downwards, and she isn’t quite sure if it’s because of his injuries or the contrast in temperatures mixing together. “You okay?” She asks, finding the silence quite worrying.

 

He mumbles something incoherent, sliding back down into a lying position. “Tina,” Newt whispers.

 

“It’s me, I’m right here.” The brunette answers back, placing the cloth against his forehead which jolts him awake.

 

“Thank you, Tina.” He manages to speak one last sentence before falling back to sleep.

 

She blinks rapidly a few times, and clears her throat. “You’re welcome,” the witch says more to herself more than anything. Tina manages a small smile, before continuing to dab him with the cloth.

 

~

 

When Queenie arrives back with Jacob, she’s over the moon to see that Newt is awake and sitting up. Tina is sat beside him, holding another cloth up when the pair both arrive. “Newt, I’m gonna warn you that she is most likely about to hug you.” The witch mutters quietly, seconds before the copper-blonde woman wraps her arms around him.

 

She only does so gently, then moves away one moment later. “Newton! You scared us so badly.” Queenie huffs. “Oh, I’m so glad you’re okay!” Her tone changes from slightly scolding to growing shaky as if she’s about to cry.

 

Newt is confused. “Th — thank you?”

 

The witch pulls up the chair that was beside his bed, using her wand to summon the one beside Tina’s so that Jacob can also take a seat. “Teenie, why is he shakin’ so bad?” Queenie whispers, her tone drenched in worry.

 

“It’s the fever,” Tina explains, pressing the cloth back to his forehead. “His body is fighting each after effect of every curse. The nurses said a few of his wounds became slightly infected too, so that isn’t helping.”

 

Newt opens one eye. “I’m… I’m fine, really.” He attempts at reassuring the sisters through chattering teeth.

 

Tina rolls her eyes. “He’s been telling me that for the past hour,” she tells her sister.

 

Before anybody can say another word about Newt’s condition, more footsteps can be heard ascending towards them. The curtain isn’t drawn, so Tina can see that Graves is walking towards them… accompanied by somebody she doesn’t recognise. And, he’s holding a case. Is he holding  _ the _ case?

 

“Mr. Scamander, you’re awake!” Percival exclaims happily, although his brow does furrow when he examines the man’s condition a little further up close.

 

It takes Newt a moment to process the fact that this is not Grindlewald in disguise, and that’s he’s perfectly safe, but a flash of fear moves across his face before he calms down again. Then, he realises who is stood behind him. “P — Professor Dumbledore?” He frowns, clearly confused. “I thought I was in… in New York?” His nose scrunches up a little. (Tina thinks it’s adorable.)

 

“Mr. Scamander, I have something that belongs to you.” The man smiles, stepping forwards and putting the case at the end of the bed.

 

Newt lurches forwards, and Tina has to physically hold him down to stop him from going over to it. Dumbledore chuckles. “I think you need to rest a little while longer first, Newt. But, all you must know is that they are safe. I could not have simply anyone coming to collect it now, could I?” He smiles. “Maybe you should let Queenie help for a while, I’ve heard she’s an excellent dragon mother.”

 

The witch giggles softly.

 

Everybody — including Graves — is completely confused. The man who is apparently quite fond of Newt, walks around to his bedside. He places something atop of the drawers beside it, before going back over to Percival’s side. “Well done on catching the black marketers,” he nods towards him, then over to Tina. Then, before Newt can even try and ask him what might be going on he apparates out of the room.

 

“He came to me with the case.” Percival shrugs. “He’s the headmaster of Hogwarts, so I figured he knows Mr. Scamander.”

 

“Ooh!” Queenie exclaims, wishing she’d had the chance to ask him about the school a little.

 

Graves looks around at the three other people crowding the bed. “Well, I must go.” He clears his throat. “Mr. Scamander, I just wanted to say thank you for saving my life by revealing Grindlewald last year… that’s all.” He says.

 

“Oh,” Newt looks up for a moment with a small smile. “You’re welcome.”

 

Nodding at the wizard, Percival also apparates away. “Teenie, find Pickett!” Queenie suddenly whisper yells to her sister, being able to hear Newt’s thoughts from practically a mile off with the worry he’s radiating.

 

Tina closes the curtain with her wand and then goes over to the suitcase. She opens up the latches, hearing Scamander sigh from relief. After climbing down, she looks around the little shed like building. “Pickett?” When she had first met Newt,  Tina could not have imagined herself calling out for a tiny tree. But, here we are.

 

Then, there’s a tiny sound coming from the work top. The witch peers down upon it, and sees a small leaf from behind a pen pot. “It’s me, Tina. Your Mummy is up there!” She doesn’t even care how silly she may sound, because right now Newt is top priority and that means caring for his creatures too.

 

The little Bowtruckle appears into full view, and climbs onto Tina’s arm. She exits the case carefully, feeling a slight pain in her side but pushing it to the back of her mind. After locking the case back up, the Goldstein sister goes over to Newt. “Here,” she says softly, letting Pickett jump onto his palm.

 

Right away they all seem to feel a lump in their throats, as they watch Newt hold Pickett close to his chest in a makeshift hug. “I’m alright, Pick.” He shushes, and Tina swears when she sits back down and becomes close enough, that she can see tiny little tears falling from the creature’s face.

 

As the creature reaches up, it uses its leaf like hand to wipe one tear away from Newt’s cut stricken cheek. The room grows silent apart from Queenie’s quiet sniffling, and then Jacob hugs her. It doesn’t take long for Newt to fall back to sleep after that, knowing that his creatures are safe and Tina is close by. He looks a lot more peaceful now to, there’s even the remains of a small smile across his worn out features.

 

Queenie and Jacob keep Tina company until visiting hours end, then they leave to go back to the apartment. She stays at Newt’s side for the entire time, only moving whenever a nurse comes to check on him or administer anymore medications. The night draws in fast, but the witch isn’t tiring as easily tonight and so she sits in the chair beside Newt’s bed and reads one of the creature books from down in his suitcase (which is also safely by her side, unbeknownst to the nurses as to what it holds of course.)

 

~


	11. Chapter 11

~

 

The next day the nurses discharge Tina from the hospital, with the instructions to change her dressing once a day until it has fully healed. Also, they’ve told her that bed rest will do no harm, and that she isn’t to return to work until a month has passed. She almost chokes on air at that point.

 

Thankfully, she has a reason to stay off work — someone has to make sure Newton goddamn Scamander doesn’t get himself into trouble again. In fact, despite being discharged and allowed to go home, the witch doesn’t leave his side and is still there when his eyes open about an hour after the nurses stopped bothering to tell her to go away.

 

And, this is exactly where she stays. Day in, day out for the next week and two days. Of course, Tina does go home to sleep and eat a few meals in the day… but, there are times when Queenie has turned up in the evening and her sister has fallen asleep on Newt’s bed again. The wizard grows in strength a little bit as each day passes, and by the time the hospital discharge him he is able to walk without any aid, his fever has broken and he is staying fully conscious.

 

But, the Goldstein sisters (and Jacob) all thoroughly agree that Mr. Scamander is still in no shape to travel back home just yet. Despite the fact that is has been two weeks since he was first captured, he still isn’t back to himself and there’s no way in hell that Tina is letting him out of her sight just yet.

 

So, now he’s staying in the spare room in there apartment again… just like those few months ago when he had first arrived in New York and Tina had arrested him. Ah, good times. “Tina?” Newt says, and she turns.

 

It’s good to see him back in his usual attire — shirt, suspenders and bow tie to complete the look. “Yes?” The witch questions, moving away from the door.

 

“Thank you for… for looking after my creatures. And, um, me too.. I suppose,” he looks down at Pickett, who is sat upon the duvet looking right back up at him.

 

She sighs contentedly. Tina watches him smile down at his beloved Bowtruckle, and examines his face a little; there’s still a handful of cuts, but they’re fading away quickly now. Whenever different parts of skin become visible there’s always the evidence of a bruise, but most of the bandages have been taken off now and the marks where he was bound are just a distant maroon memory against him. He looks almost better, and it relieves her mind to no end.

 

“You’re welcome, Newt. We were worried about you,” the woman admits, slightly less afraid of revealing her feelings to him now that he’s seen her cry and all.

 

Tina decides to take a seat on the spare bed for a while, knowing that soon Queenie will call them both into the kitchen for dinner and then they’ll prepare for bedtime. The sisters and Jacob have each been helping out with feeding and caring for the animals in the case, asking Newt whenever they have a question or if he’s asleep then they’ve been checking on his manuscripts that are kept on one of the higgledy-piggledy shelves in the shed.

 

“Dinner, Teenie! Newt!” The cheerful call of Queenie Goldstein’s travels through the closed bedroom door, and the pair get to their feet.

 

Newt is a lot more shaky than Tina is though, and she steps towards him with an outstretched hand. “I — I can do it,” he grimaces, but quickly grabs her hand not two seconds later. “Maybe not.” The wizard mumbles.

 

She smirks slightly, then begins to help him out of the door. They take their seats at the table, joining both Jacob and Queenie who are busy setting each place out to look nice and neat. The four of them eat and make conversation, with Scamander staying quieter than usual but neither of the people surrounding him push him to talk at all. Once they have all eaten and cleared away, Newt disappears into the bathroom and Tina finds him a while later already tucked up in bed with his eyes closed.

 

When he hears her walk into the room, his eyes flicker open. “Tina?” He murmurs sleepily, managing to look up a little.

 

“Everything okay?” She asks, wandering over to see that there’s a pained expression upon his face.

 

Newt nods.

 

“Newt… what’s wrong?” The witch reiterates, knowing that he’s lying and not doing a very good job of it at that.

 

He sighs softly. “It’s just a headache,” Scamander explains.

 

“Well, I’ll sit with you until it’s gone.” She states firmly, and he smiles.

 

Moving over a little to make more room for her, Newt closes his eyes again. Despite not usually liking a fuss being made over him, he has grown quite accustomed to having Tina care for him over these past few weeks. He still struggles to return the gestures that she does, but he’s a lot more used to having his hand held now, and reaches out for her.

 

Tina takes his hand into hers, rubbing her thumb comfortingly over the top of his palm. It isn’t long until he’s snoring quietly, but his grip on her hand is still there and she doesn’t want to leave him. So, gently prying him off of her she lies down beside him. Closing her eyes, Tina can already feel herself drifting off… it won’t matter this once.

 

The next thing she knows, her eyes are opening again yet it’s still dark. Tina takes a good few moments to realise where she currently is, and when she tries to shuffle to her left she can feel Newt right beside her. Deciding that maybe it’s best to give him a little more room so as not to make it awkward, the witch shuffles to her right. Only… she hadn’t exactly realised how close she was to the edge, and goes tumbling down to the floor with a loud help of fright.

 

“Well, this is fine.” Tina mumbles to herself in annoyance, rolling off of her left side and onto her back.

 

There’s a shuffling coming from the bed above her, and then a groan or two. “Tina?” Newt whispers.

 

“Yeah, I’m down here.” She replies, lack of enthusiasm for her current situation quite evident.

 

Suddenly, Newt’s head appears over the side of the bed staring down at her. “What… What’re you doing down there?” He frowns.

 

“I didn’t do it on purpose, Newt!” She whisper yells, attempting to sit up but wincing as she does so. Unable to hide her pain, the witch audibly exhales an “ow!”

 

The wizard in the bed above her looks panicked, and the next thing he’s doing is trying to come down and help her. “Newt! Get back to bed, I’m fine!” Tina shouts, now growing more worried for his own health as opposed to her own.

 

“Stop yelling!” He counteracts, offering her a hand to pull her up.

 

Batting it away softly, Tina gets herself to her feet. “I’m not yelling… you’re yelling!” She snaps, holding onto where she had been jinxed a few days ago whilst she makes her way back to the bed.

 

“You’re both yelling!” Another voice joins in, hammering on the door.

 

Tina and Newt both exchange sheepish glances. “Sorry, Queenie!” The elder sister calls out.

 

There’s a small silence before little footsteps can be heard descending away from the door, and Tina lets out a sigh of relief. Then, she starts to laugh. Everything that has happened swims throughout her mind, and she lies down. “Newt… you almost died,” Tina exhales, feeling her cheeks grow damp. Emotions are strange.

 

“You… you saved me, Tina.” He replies softly, and she can feel him shuffling closer to her. Newt slowly offers her his hand, and manages to help her up. “Please don’t cry,” he whispers, meeting her eyes and managing to fixate his gaze without looking away.

 

“Sorry,” she already feels silly enough, and begins to wipe away her tears. But, before the witch can attempt at recomposing herself she feels Newt’s arms wrap around her. Tina returns the gesture, hugging him tight and never wanting to let him go. Because she knows he’s safe now, and in her arms she feels like she can protect him from anything else that wants to hurt him.

 

When they eventually break apart, she smiles up at him. Her eyelashes still hold tiny little tear droplets, but happiness spreads across her face accompanied by relief. “There’s no need to apologise,” he murmurs, his eyes traveling back down to the duvet before flickering back up so that he can tuck her hair behind her ear.

 

“Let’s get some sleep,” Tina suggests, helping Newt to lie back down. She swings her legs down from the bed, but pauses before standing up. The witch turns to see him looking up at her “I could… stay?” She offers, wanting so badly so just cuddle up beside him and ensure his safety and comfort throughout the night.

 

“Please.” Newt whispers, sleep taking over him as his eyes begin to close.

 

So, she lies down beside him. And, they fall fast asleep right beside one another.

 

~


	12. Chapter 12

~

 

Another week passes by, and it consists mostly of trying to keep Newt from going down into the case. As he gets better, he seems to think that he’s perfectly fine and can go about his every day routine again. Tina and Queenie have to remind him that they are extremely capable of caring for his creatures for just a few more days, and Jacob backs them up whilst Pickett tries to be intimidating and squeaks at his tree to listen.

 

But, once the week has gone by the truth begins to settle over Tina… he can’t stay forever. And, she’s right, because today is the day that he’s leaving and she wishes that he wouldn’t. But, there’s still creatures to rescue, manuscripts to write and Newt has his life back in England. Queenie is also emotional, only the younger sister shows it in a much more forward way than Tina does. This is proven when she hugs Newt when he stands by the door ready to head to the docks, and he sort of freezes for a moment before squirming his arm out of her grip so he can half return the hug with his one free hand.

 

“I’m glad you’re feelin’ better, Newt. Come back soon!” She says, letting him go and looking at him with a tearful gaze.

 

He smiles, nodding. “I most certainly will, don’t worry.”

 

Tina is accompanying him to the docks, so she steps beside him and the pair apparate together. The witch secretly wishes they’d walked, because then they’d get more time together. When they arrive, a feeling of dèjá vu settles over the both of them. It wasn’t that long ago that she was bidding him her goodbyes after Grindlewald had been revealed.

 

“Well… please could you live the quiet life you promised this time?” She breaks the silence with a small laugh as she exhales, looking up at him.

 

He smiles. “I will try,” Newt replies.

 

Their gaze meets, and for a moment it stays like that. Neither of them looking away. “Thank you,” the wizard moves his eyeline towards a ship that’s docking a few metres away. Then, before Tina can say anything else he wraps his arms around her and rests his chin against her shoulder. “I’ll… I’ll be back.”

 

“In one piece I hope.” She hugs him back, sighing heavily as he lets go a minute later.

 

Newt nods. “Goodbye, Tina.”

 

He turns on his heel, heading towards the ship that will take him back to England. Newt walks up the ramp, stopping for a moment. This time he turns, waving towards Tina who has a worn out smile on her face and a few tears glittering against the fondness in her eyes. She raises her hand to wave back. “Bye, Newt.”

 

~


End file.
